Link1
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-01/advertising-dont-spend-more-to-get-less#r=nav-f-column
Link2
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/retailers-location-based-advertising-target-consumers-100007995–finance.html

“What is an effective way to advertise?” is definitely one of the most challenging questions for many companies. It is really interesting to see how companies, such as Doritos, approach marketing by spending huge budget on commercial during Super Bowl, where the cost for a 30 second ad can go as high as $3.8 million, while others, such as Sears, can simply attract customers’ attention by introducing discounts through wireless  and social network. If we analyze both methods of marketing campaign by comparing the reputation of the company and the effectiveness of advertisements, both factors can be very powerful. However, what makes the a company differ than the others is the targeted customers. During Super Bowl, the value of the enormous cost on commercial is the exposure of the brand and company to the public with more than 100 million viewers. On the other hand, some retailers and restaurants utilize mobile and social network to effectively “attract” customers interests and motives even though the amount of exposure to public can be limited. There is no right or wrong way of marketing, it simply proves there is always an unique approach that makes a company stand out among all the competitions.

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Link = http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/chipotle-founder-completely-disses-former-195828922.html

As the founder of Chipotle, a former subsidiary of McDonald in 1998, Steve Ells has to disagree with the value proposition of McDonald, the largest worldwide fast food chain. After McDonald gave up making burrito and focusing on fries and burgers in 2006, Ells understands there is one thing that Chipotle is able to provide to customers which McDonald cannot  ̶  the quality. For Chipotle, its value proposition (or brand positioning) is “to customers who are looking for culinary indulgence, Chipotle is the most ideal restaurant that provides exceptional quality food that are made with 100% natural ingredient.” The value that Chipotle brings to the table explains why the restaurant has had 1,500 locations and is still continuously expanding. In contrast to the system of McDonald, starting from 2000, Chipotle started serving 100% natural pork, chicken, beef, zero trans fat oil, and organic black beans instead of dozens of frozen patties. Ells deeply believes that this production model is what customers are truly looking for; and this is also the only way to be able to attract customer’s loyalty and expand the company in this competitive food industry.

There is also a video of insight into Chipotle’s value
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE

Link = http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-27/forget-tvs-dot-sharp-sees-a-future-in-strawberry-farming

In the rapid growing electronic industry today, there is a company, Sharp, that decides to take a different path and utilize its strength in technology on agricultural development. Sharp is a well-known company in television industries that launched an experiment at Dubai in July where berries are grown under control with high technology. Why is there a shift from the technology industry to the agricultural market? One of the most reasonable explanation is the points of difference of Sharp. The farming industry, strawberries in this case, is competitive in the way that different farmers share the same point of parity on the productions of quality agricultural goods such as strawberries from Japan. Nevertheless, Sharp’s point of difference is the factor that brings potentials to the company as it helps Sharp to stand out among all the competitors. For examples, despite the undesirable weather for growing berries, Sharp can overcome the barrier by technology control that not only ensures the quality of the products but also decreases the cost; therefore, Sharp  is able to offer rare farm productions that are uncommon in deserted area while keeping the selling price comparative low to the export goods from foreign competition like Japan.